Be Modest,My Master of Imperial Guards

Chapter 74 Assaulted Again

In the carriage.

The exclamation was mercilessly suppressed in a flash.

Leng Qingtang bowed his head and clamped Gu Yunxi's small mouth, silencing her by force.

Captain Ai Qing rode next to them and heard the unusual sounds inside the carriage. He knew better than to interrupt but was too concerned to ignore, so he looked back and asked in a low voice,

"Master..."

Still panting, Leng Qingtang let go of Gu Yunxi and replied, "What's the matter?"

Ai Qing heard the difference in the Master's voice so he dared not say more.

It happened that a white-feathered eagle landed on Ai Qing's arm. He spotted a small bamboo tube tied to the bird's leg, took it off, and then reported to inside the carriage,

"Snow has brought news."

Leng Qingtang took the bamboo tube, extracted the note, and read the four words.

"Lord Shen has returned."

His lips curled in an indifferent smile as he threw the note into the charcoal stove in front of him.

Looking back at Gu Yunxi again, he found her shrunk in the corner, not daring to move again. He asked with a straight face,

"What's it now?"

She pressed her lips and looked at him grievously. Her petite flushed face was full of horror and shyness, and her eyes avoided his chin.

"Master, I didn't mean to say something wrong..."

She had been checking herself as the Master read the note.

The Master had been castrated. How could there be any male characteristics? It was careless of her not to watch her mouth. Had she hurt his feelings again by mentioning the elephant in the room?

With a complicated feeling, Leng Qingtang managed to maintain control of his composure.

One could not be guilty when he was unaware of the guilt. This innocent young girl did not know his true identity, no wonder she was so shocked.

When he left the capital, Leng Qingtang brought facial ointments and medical herbs with him. However, he had been busy in a whirl of affairs after reaching Fengyuan. There was no time to take medicine, and hence certain male physical features resurfaced.

To think about it, he should be grateful that the girl had reminded him. If it had been discovered by someone else, he would have been in more trouble.

"Cough."

To break the ice, Leng Qingtang cleared his throat and told Gu Yunxi calmly,

"If you want to stay in the Eastern Depot, you are not allowed to talk about it. Let it rot in your stomach. Understand?!"

"Yeah."

Gu Yunxi stared at the Master's serious but handsome face and nodded, only half understanding his words.

Recalling the two of them sleeping on the same bed last night and the Master's moody behavior, Gu Yunxi couldn't help worrying about his physical condition.

Her smooth little hand reached slowly to him and tentatively covered his large warm hand.

She asked softly,

"Master, if you feel unwell, we must see a doctor. When we arrive at the post house, I will find a doctor to get your pulse."

"I'm fine!"

Leng Qingtang gazed at her straight and emphasized,

"It's just some moles. What's the fuss?!"

"But... those... don't look like moles..."

Gu Yunxi insisted under her breath and tried to continue speaking. But when she saw the Master's razor-sharp eyes, she did not dare to utter one more word.

Beside her, the Master scolded,

"Sit quietly. Don't make me angry, or I'll kick you out!"

"Humph!"

Ungrateful man...

Gu Yunxi muttered to herself but did not dare to say it out loud.

With a bitter look at the Master, she stopped talking to him.

It was already evening when they arrived in Fanyang.

Compared with Fengyuan, Fanyang's jurisdiction was not as large.

A few days ago, when Leng Qingtang was in Fengyuan, Lieutenant Zhao's relief food had been dropped here.

Later in the night, Leng Qingtang met with Prefect Bai of the Fanyang County in the post house. The prefect reported the county population, food distribution, and the process of house repairing.

Gu Yunxi and Qinger lived in the same room. As soon as Gu Yunxi entered, she slumped in the bed without dinner.

In the middle of the night, hunger woke her up.

It was dark all around, and she could not tell the time.

Qinger slept on the other side of the bed. Fearing to wake her up, Gu Yunxi got up cautiously and sneaked out to find something to eat.

When she passed the Master's room, she saw the light inside and smelled decocting herbs.

Because Gu Yunxi discovered the secret this afternoon, Leng Qingtang asked for a separate room after arriving at the post house to do something quietly.

Chiliarch was not around, and no one could help him to thread his facial hair. He had to use the razor and soap to shave. He was also boiling decoction on the stove and prepared to take it before bed.

"Master! Master!"

Smelling the decoction, Gu Yunxi kept knocking at the door as if it was the end of the world. Even her voice was twisted.

After a long time, the door clasp rustled, and then the door opened to the sides.

Gu Yunxi had been leaning on the door. When it suddenly opened, her small body fell into the Master's arms.

"Why are you not sleeping late at night? Why are you screaming?" Leng Qingtang's face was stern and his voice was unhappy.

"Master, why are you staying up late and hiding in the room to boil herbs? Are you sick? Is it serious?"

Her worried and anxious eyes cast on him before she could separate her body from his chest.

Couldn't hedge anymore, Leng Qingtang had to admit, "It's nothing. Just a cold."

"Then why won't you ask me to do it?"

Gu Yunxi had always believed in everything the Master said. Hearing that he had a cold, she hurriedly left him and ran straight to the stove.

The decoction in the jar was steaming, and it smelled fresh and different, unlike the decoction for cold.

During those days in Fengyuan, Gu Yunxi boiled herbs beside the stove every day. How could she not remember the smell of the decoction for cold?

Perplexed, Gu Yunxi used a handkerchief to lift the lid and looked inside the jar. Then she asked without turning her head,

"Master, is this decoction prescribed by Imperial Doctor Jiang?"

"Of course!"

Leng Qingtang tried to brazen it out, so he affirmed stubbornly.

"Hmm."

Gu Yunxi still had many doubts in her heart, but she was afraid of irritating the Master, so she didn't argue anymore. Squatting down, she continued to stir the decoction with bamboo chopsticks.

Leng Qingtang stood silently behind her and watched her slender figure carefully guarding the charcoal stove. He listened to her sweet advice.

"You are unwell. Please just go rest on the bed. I will take the decoction to you."

At this moment, mixed feelings fulfilled his heart.

Obviously, he was moved by her thoughtfulness, but he had to pretend to have a heart of stone to keep the secret.

Suddenly, a restless thought occurred to him. He wanted to carry this soft and adorable woman to the bed immediately and show her the secret of his body by action.

But he thought of his parents, who often visited his dreams mournful or angry, the old Master Bian, who embraced death willingly, and the slaughtered Zheng family, whose blood dyed the snow red. In the end, reason came back to him.

It was best for things to develop naturally. What was important now was to return to the capital and implement the plan!

To end skating on thin ice, the ruthless political game, and to share his secret with her soon, it was the most urgent to figure out how to take action.

Studying the little girl busy making decoction for him, Leng Qingtang relaxed, and a happy smile appeared on his face.

He said silently in his heart,

"Girl, grow up quickly. I'm waiting for the day when I can tell you all my secrets..."

Leng Qingtang firmly believed that day would come. The day when he would transform from the seal keeper of the Imperial Ceremony Office to the rightful heir of the Dayi royal throne, Huanan He.

And she would no longer be Gu Yunxi, the bullied maid in the Garden, but the daughter of Dayi's Provincial Magnate Lord Protector Zheng, Commandery Princess Zheng Wanruo!

...

Suddenly, unusual noises came from outside.

Leng Qingtang blew the candle vigilantly. In the darkness, he leaped over to Gu Yunxi's side in the blink of an eye to protect her.

"Master..."

Gu Yunxi was scared. Before she could call out, her mouth was covered by his hand.

There was a faint sound coming from the window.

Leng Qingtang turned to look.

In the darkness, he discerned a copper pipe as small as a finger pierced through the paper window shades, and a thin stream of green smoke floated from it.

Leng Qingtang pressed his big hand on Gu Yunxi's head to push her under the table. Then he turned around agilely, grabbed towels from the basin shelf, and soaked them. He tied the towels behind his and Gu Yunxi's heads to cover their noses and mouths.

Gu Yunxi lay under the table, staring nervously at the black shadows going back and forth outside the doors and windows while her heart was palpitating.

This trip to Jiangan was perilous! It was not long after the Qianqi Mountain bandit attack. Now they were ambushed by assassins! How many people had the Eastern Depot offended? The Master had been assaulted many times after leaving the capital.

The door was kicked open. Leng Qingtang vigorously jumped on the intruder and fought back.

In the dark, Gu Yunxi heard the Master yelling. His voice was muffled by the towel.

"Girl, run!"

Gu Yunxi quickly crawled out from under the table and toward the door. A silver light flashed before her eyes, slashing her face.

Unconsciously throwing her hands, Gu Yunxi dodged the attack, but the wet towel covering her mouth and nose dropped. Then, an extremely sweet smell penetrated her nose.

As soon as she stood up to defend herself, Gu Yunxi felt dizzy, and her limbs went limp.

She wanted to call the Master but could not make a sound when she opened her mouth.

Somebody picked her up.

It was the Master!

Leng Qingtang fought a way out and carried Gu Yunxi out of the guest room, only to be ambushed again.

Unable to use his arms, he flung his legs to attack and moved quickly across the swords. People were wailing as they fell on the ground.

Leng Qingtang fought many opponents with Gu Yunxi in his arms for a long time. Back and forth, they finally came to the outside.

The piercing sound of gongs tore the land under the deep and empty night.

In the distance, countless soldiers with torches were roaring as they rushed towards the post house,

Prefect Bai was their leader, who raised a torch in one hand and held a sword in the other. He shouted,

"Protect the imperial envoy! Go!"

Seeing that they had attracted the government's attention, the assassins jumped across the wall and fled without a trace.

As soon as Leng Qingtang just put Gu Yunxi under a banyan tree, he was surrounded by a crowd.

Prefect Bai looked anxious. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and bowed to Leng Qingtang.

"I was incompetent to endanger you, Master. Are you hurt? I will send for the doctor immediately."

"I'm well. Those people could not harm me! Let the doctor check the captains later. They might have inhaled the smoke."

"Yes, I will do that."

Leng Qingtang unwrapped the wet towel and frowned, looking stern and puzzled. "Why would you bring people here?"

Prefect Bai said,

"In fact, Master, the hall drum in my mansion was beaten at midnight. When the guards checked, no one was there. Only six words were written on the drumhead, stating you were in trouble. So I led the soldiers to the post house."

Another message?

Hearing the prefect talking about the message, Leng Qingtang soon recalled the message left in the Qingfeng Temple in the northern suburbs of the capital.

Could it be him? Why did he follow them all the way to Jiangan?

Leng Qingtang looked sharply at Prefect Bai and asked solemnly,

"What does it say? Take me to see it later."

"Yes." Prefect Bai cupped his hands and then replied,

"It read: Post house in danger. Go rescue."

Leng Qingtang smiled disdainfully and murmured to himself,

"A trick of the wanders."

Gu Yunxi sat under the big banyan tree, leaning back against the rough trunk. She could hear the conversation between the Master and Prefect Bai clearly.

Could it be... him again?

Unaware of the reason, Lu Qiange's face emerged in her mind when she heard someone had drummed to alert them.

Gu Yunxi looked up nervously, searching around her cautiously and seriously.

The night was deep, and the moonlight was cold. But the slender and gorgeous pale figure was not found under the vast sky...

The doctor came and prescribed medicine to wake the poisoned. He asked them to apply icy water on their face till dawn. Only after that did they come to their senses.

Captain Ai Qing came to the Master and knelt to apologize.

"I failed to protect you, Master. Please punish me!"

"After daybreak, we set off to Fuji County."

Sitting on the fauteuil, Leng Qingtang gave the decisive order while wiping the sword with a clean handkerchief. The sword was well polished. When he turned his wrist, it dazzled and reflected coldly and brightly in his black eyes.

Leng Qingtang's lips curled up, showing an emotionless and faint smile.

"Ai Qing, can you tell it? Someone wishes me dead soon on this trip..."